Can you see me?
by Lonely.Wallflower
Summary: Emily is an ordinary girl in Mystic Falls who gets to know our favorite vamps. Follow her as friendships and romance are built, in her heartache and new found life.
1. Introduction

I think I might be one of the rare people in the planet who like Mondays. I would spend the whole weekend looking forward to going back to school. Don't get me wrong, it's not that I like school. It's just that weekends are not fun for me. I never get to do anything.

For you to understand this, you have to get to know my family. For my parents it's all about control. I think my dad must have been a general in the military in a previous life. You do not argue with my dad. If he tells you that the earth has the shape of a cube, you nod your head and say it's a cube. If, God forbid, you try to convince him otherwise, he'd fly into a blind rage and you'd scurry away with your tail between your legs. He was diagnosed years ago, before I was even born with an incurable disease. We never talk about it at home but I think it makes him feel weak and insecure so he turns that into even more control. He has to have a say in everything, the housework that my mom has, the quality of the food cooked, the schools we go to and the subjects we take, what TV shows we watch and even when we go to sleep.

I think that that amount of control over her life, and the fact that she couldn't talk back to my dad, made my mom want to regain control back by dictating our lives, her children I mean. Therefore, I grew up into a wallflower. I never had any close friends growing up, I always followed what my parents told me to do, I wore the clothes my mom bought and chose for me to wear each day, never spoke out of turn especially when we had people visiting. I was the perfect puppet.

Now that I am older, I am not exactly as easy to control, but instead of rebellion, I chose to withdraw into myself. I never shared with my mom any of my secrets or insecurities growing up, never hung out with her and had a girl talk. Same with my dad, never had a serious heart to heart, never discussed what I wanted to do in life. There were just their expectations and whether I fulfilled them.

For me, we were strangers living in the same house.

I don't want you to think that my parents are monsters. They are not, there are parents out there a lot worse than mine. I think I am the problem. I feel it deep down that I am different from the rest and I am not the easiest person to be around, so my parents don't understand me. I wish I could change and be the kind of daughter they'd want, to be cute, popular and lovable. To be charismatic and charm my parents into allowing me to be myself, the kind of whirlwind who'd get what she wants and then my parents would be left shaking their heads with find desperation knowing that I had my way but they are fine with it because it's me. But that seems to be impossible. It's just not in my genetic makeup.

Even at school, I am quite a forgettable person. I don't have that many friends. I am not part of any club, I am not the kind of person to get invited to parties, hell I haven't had a single boyfriend in all of my 17 years.

I go to school, get my books from my locker, go to class, have lunch, go to class and head home. Every day, same routine. Nothing changes. Life is just so dull. But the thing is, maybe deep down that's how I want it to be. Maybe I am afraid and don't want to change it. I don't know and I try not to think about it too much.

Oh, I almost forgot. I have a brother. His name is Andy. He is the total opposite. From childhood he was quite stubborn, never afraid to argue for what he wanted and even to go head to head with my parents. He is outspoken, has a lot of friends. He has a life.

We aren't very close, we never discuss our day, we meet at the dinner table or briefly at breakfast and that's about it.

It feels lonely to be me.

Now that you know all there is to know about me, let's get on with the story.


	2. New In Town

As I said, I like Mondays, because it means I no longer have to stay cooped up at home trying to please my mom or sitting around with relatives I barely knew who came visiting during the weekends. In casr you haven't guessed already, I am not exactly a people person.

Anyways, that Monday I got to school as usual. I got my books from my locker as usual, never really bothering to look for familiar faces. I never really talk to any of these people anyways. First period was math, one of my favorite classes. I take my seat at the very back row and wait for class to begin while listening to No promises by Shayne Ward. Listening to music out of one ear is something that I do in most classes. The earphone would be hidden by my long hair with none the wiser. I think a couple of my teachers did notice but they didn't say anything about it. I was a straight A student, with close to perfect grades, so they let me be.

My seat was next to the window so I was looking outside at birds in a nearby tree waiting for Mr Brown to start when the commotion started. There was so much chatter around that I rose my head getting curious and I saw a group of 5 standing at the entrance of the class. 4 guys and a girl that seemed to come straight out of a fashion magazine. The girl was real pretty with blond curls, she was tall and slim, I think she would have been quite at home in a playboy magazine, not that I ever saw one.

As to the guys, they were quite eye catching. They were handsome to say the least. 2 of them were blond and the other two were dark haired and all of them were quite tall and they looked like they are from a sports team or at least that they exercised often.

The whole class was gawking at the newcomers. Guys were drooling looking at the girl and the girls were doing the flirty things that girls do to attract guys attention, the kind of art I never really understood.

And the 5 strangers were taking it in as though it was an everyday occurrence, which might not be a bit of a stretch actually.

I think it took Mr Brown over 10 minutes to get everybody to shut up. "Yes yes, I know it is very exciting to see new faces but calm down. This is not a concert and these young people aren't things to gawk at. They are transfer students from Boston. I will let them introduce themselves and I expect that you would make them feel welcome."

With a nod to them, the introductions began.

"Hi, I'm Stephan Salvatore", said the first blond. Straight and to the point.

"Hey ladies, I'm Damon Salvatore, Stephan's older brother", said the guy next to him while winking and causing the chatter to start once again, he was as good looking as his brother but he had dark features while his twin was blond. I wonder why he'd be in our class if he's older, did he fail a class?

"I'm Niklaus Mikaelson, but you can call me Klaus", the second dark haired guy said, he looked kind of cocky, something that the girls in my class seemed to love.

"And I'm Kol Mikaelson, his twin", the last guy said.

Last came the girl, she waved lazily and said "Rebekah Mikaelson"

A chorus of "Hi Rebekah" was heard from the class's male population and I couldn't help but feel amused. Mr Brown seemed not to share my amusement as he quickly asked the class's newest additions to find empty seats.

Stephen took a seat that because magically empty next to Elena Gilbert. I could have sworn her best friend Bonnie was sitting there. Damon took a seat next to Caroline, the cheerleaders' team captain.

Tyler Lockwood, the captain of the football team pushed the poor guy sitting next to him to have the new girl Rebekah sit there.

The last two Mikaelson brothers took the seats to my right which were the only seats that remained available.

I spared them a look before turning back to Mr Brown who was trying to regain control over the class. Finally, it was quiet again and we could start with the lesson. It was a lesson that I already learned ahead so I was ready to tune out the teacher when I noticed that the guys next to me didn't have the book to follow. I slid mine next to the closest brother, I think his name was Kol. He turned his head to look at me so I whispered: "You can use it with your brother.".

"What about you?", he asked

"It's ok, I already know this one"

He took the book with a smile and I turned my head back to the window watching the birds again. I envy birds, they have wings and can fly. I wish I could fly as well. I would go so far away and keep flying without stopping anywhere. I would feel so free. When I die, I want to be reborn as a bird.

I was pulled out of my musings by the sound of my name, turning around, I saw Mr Brown calling my name. I wasn't very worried, as he knows my tendency for zoning out, "Sorry Mr Brown, could you say that again?", I asked

"I would like you to come to the board and solve this problem, Emily."

Ugh, I hate doing this kind of stuff, going in front of the class and explaining stuff, not my thing. Speaking in front of crowds makes me very uncomfortable. I closed my eyes for a second and took a deep breath, then going to the front of the class I focused on the problem written on the board. It was pretty easy actually, so I started writing on the board the resolution and at the same time trying to explain aloud what I was doing.

The ordeal was over in 2 minutes and I looked to the teacher for approval to regain my seat. He was about to nod when I heard a voice saying :" Sorry Mr. Brown, I don't get it, could you speak a little louder Emily?"

Usually Caroline doesn't notice my existence but I think that the presence of 4 hotties in proximity brought the bitch in her.

I knew that she didn't care about the class at all, but she just wanted to be heard and to have some fun at my expense. I looked straight at her and asked "Which part?" She raised her shoulders "I dunno, all of it?"

I take a quick look at the birds outside, most them have already left the tree, only 2 birds left. They seemed to be looking at me, watching me. I smile at my crazy thought and watch Caroline frown. Oops, she might have thought I was laughing at her. Oh well, who cares? The sooner I get over this the sooner I go back to my seat.

Forcing my voice to be louder than usual, I explain the solution, step by step, painfully slowly fixing with my eyes a point behind Caroline's right shoulder on the wall. Then I turned to the teacher saying" Sorry Mr brown, can't make it any clearer nor louder than that".

"Well done Emily thank you!"

I nodded my head and went back to my desk.

The rest of the class went by so slowly I thought I was going to fall asleep. By the end of the period, the desks of the Mikaelson brothers were swamped with a hord of girls whio were now free to ask them where they came from, why they came to Mystic Falls, what was their favorite colors and what have you.

I gathered my stuff quickly and went to second period. I had French. My French teacher was an idiot, horrible accent and horrible attitude. I started learning French when I was 8 because I found a children book in French and since then I tried to learn it as much as I could and watch French TV shows, etc. So I became fluent. The first time I had class with my French teacher, she took quite the dislike for me, and she wanted to embarrass me in front of the class, she saw that I wasn't taking notes "Pourquoi vous ne prenez pas de notes Mademoiselle?"

I replied in perfect French "Je ne savais pas que vous vouliez que je recopie ce que vous dites madame. Je croyais qu'on était ici pour apprendre et ce que vous disiez, je le connais déjà. »

That was the last time she ever addressed me in class, and I am not complaining. Since then I would spend French class period reading a French book instead. As long as I turned in the homework on time, she didn't seem to care.

Lunch time, I usually find an empty classroom and read a book or just zone out. I was doing just that when I felt a shadow above me, raising my head I saw the guy who at next to me in math.

"Hey", he said

"Hi"

"I still have your book from earlier"

"Oh",I totally forgot about the book

"So, here it is", he said giving me the said book,"and thank you"

"it's not a big deal, don't worry about it"

"I'm planning to get my books today."

"ok", I didn't know if he was being nice or trying to make conversation. I just knew that I wasn't making this any easy for him. I didn't know if I wanted to start a conversation with him.

"So, I'll see you around?"

"Yep, sure, let me know if you need help getting around"

"actually, do you mind if I hang out with you here for a bit?"

My surprise must have shown because he said sheepishly "Some of the girls were quite… persistent. So I would like to have some peace before they find me."

"You are hiding."

"Yes.", he said with a laugh

Now I understood why he wanted to strike a conversation, my reluctance to talk must have been better for him than the interest the other girls were showing him.

"Sure", I said," you can stay however long you want."

"Thanks, I don't want to bother you, so you can pretend I am not here.".

I gave him a small smile and I went back to my book while listening to Crawling back to you by Nickelback. I was so engrossed in reading my latest Hemingway book that I didn't realize that someone else entered the room until I finished the chapter and raised my head to look at the time.

The surprise made my heart skip a beat and I saw two heads turn around to watch me, the second one belonging to Stephen Salvatore.

"Sorry", I said,"I didn't realize someone else was here.".

"I noticed", he said smiling, «must be quite the book"

"Yeah, it's very interesting"

"I'm Stephan", he said reaching out with his hand

"I know", I replied shaking it,"I'm Emiliy"

"I know", he smiled

"And I am Kol",

They seemed quite friendly so I thought I had to at least make an effort at conversation, so I said "How is the first day at school?"

"It's very interesting", Stephan said

"To say the least", Kol added

"I imagine things can be a bit overwhelming," I said

"That's an understatement," Kol huffed

"The novelty will wear off", I said

"yeah but in the meantime we are dragged to all the bloody parties"

"Come on Kol, it's not that bad"

"says you, since you're going with the gorgeous brunette"

I guessed that he was going to whatever part they were talking about with Elena. Stephen looked a bit embarrassed and in an effort to change the conversation, he asked me "Are you going to tonight's party?"

"No, parties are not my thing"

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed." Kol said teasingly

I smiled, I kinda liked him; he seemed nice.

"Kol, don't be rude!" Stephen chided his friend.

"It's alright, it's the truth", I said. I looked at my watch and I found that it was almost time for class so I said"I have to run"

"We have free period now, Stephan and I"

"Then you can stay here as long as you like, I'll say that I didn't see you if anyone asks about you",I offered

"You are an angel"

I wave goodbye and leave the classroom, on my way out, I bump into the other Salvatore brother who looked at me a bit strangely before stepping out of the way. Mumbling a quick apology I walked away unaware of the other two curious pairs of eyes.


	3. Wanna hang out?

Novelty hadn't worn off after all, days after the party, the five new comers were still the talk of the school. Girls were swooning whenever one of the Salvatores or Mikaelsons would walk by them and the boys were stumbling over each other trying to ask Rebekah out or to come see the games. It was a bit pathetic from where I was standing to be honest, but that was none of my business. I hadn't talked to Kol nor Stephen since that day. They would wave or smile whenever our eyes would meet but they were always surrounded by girls to say something more.

So, despite the excitement lived by the school, my own life remained unchanged. The only thing remotely fun that I would do was to hang out at the grill. I liked the music that they were playing at the jukebox and being there surrounded by noise made me feel part of the conversation, even if that was me trying to lie to myself.

I was in the Grill after school, doing my history homework and listening to a country song that was being played when a hush came over the place. I looked up and saw that what became the "it" group of the school just came in to the building. Elena was walking with Stephen in front, followed by Rebekah and one of the jocks whose name I couldn't recall. Klaus came in later with Caroline and then came Kol and Damon who walked straight to the bar and were already flirting with the waitresses. The group sat at a table two rows in front of me and continued talking indifferent to the excitement that overcame the place.

I looked back down at my book trying to ignore the envy that I felt. I was a bit jealous at Elena and Caroline for their ability to make friends so fast. I wasn't particularly interested in the newcomers but I wished I had a close friend that I could hang out with instead of being alone while everyone else had someone with them. I usually didn't feel that way but at times I got so lonely that this feeling would creep in on me and fill me with emptiness.

I shook my head trying to get rid myself of this irrational thought but I couldn't get back to the book so I put it on the table and looked through the window next to me. It was getting dark and it seemed like the wind would get a bit stronger tonight. The leaves were swaying to the breeze that was picking up and the birds were starting to take shelter in the trees. A few stars started to shine across the sky. I read somewhere that when people died they became stars and then they would be watching over their loved ones from the sky. That was a pretty thought. I wondered whether any of my grandparents became a star and if so would guide me to find happiness along the road.

I heard a cough right next to me so I turned around and saw that Kol was standing by my table smiling at me. "Lost in thought again?", he teased

Smiling up at him I said:"Hey, how are you? Sorry I didn't see you!"

"It's ok, I came here with my siblings and friends, when I saw you I thought I should say hi. We don't see each other much at school."

"Yeah, that is true"

"I don't see you in Math class anymore"

"Oh, yeah, Mr Brown decided to move me to the advanced Calculus class so that is why we don't have any common classes anymore"

"Advanced class? that is impressive."

"Not really, I just like math"

"Well it's a shame that we don't have any classes together anymore, but we should hang out even when not in school."

"Um, ok?", that came out more of a question than anything because I didn't think that he would be interested in talking to me let alone spend some time with me outside of class. He didn't know me that well and we haven't spoken much.

"My friends are sitting over there, would you like to join us?"

I looked at where he was pointing and I could see that most of the people at the table were looking at us. Stephen was smiling at me, Rebekah was looking at me intensely like she was trying to look into my deepest thoughts, and so was the other Mikaelson. Damon was looking at me curiously with his head tilted while Elena and Caroline's gazes were fixed on Stephen and Damon respectively.

I turned back to Kol with a small smile saying "Thanks but it's getting late, I should get home."

"Some other time then?"

"Sure, thanks again for inviting me to hang out with you. See you at school."

"See you at school.", he said waving and making way for me to stand away from the table and gather my bag before leaving.

While walking home, I kept thinking about the conversation we had. To someone else, it was probably nothing but for me, it was the first time in so long that someone showed interest in getting to know me. The thought was as much cheering as scary. Somehow, it felt that myself will become a little bit different with Kol Mikaelson in it.


End file.
